The Next Hike

Thursday, February 24, 2011

The next hike will be on Saturday, 26th February.We meet at the Ballpark in Gillies Bay at 10:00am.

Last Saturday we had a lovely day for hiking and kept to the low ground of Texada as snow had been falling on the higher parts of the island a few days earlier. We drove towards Davie Bay and parked just past Eagle Creek. Following the usual route we headed over towards the part of Mouat Bluffs where the cactus grow. For lunch we sat on the warm black rocks that slope quite steeply down to the sea. When we arrived a small group of seals, surprised by our unexpected arrival, reluctantly slid quietly from their secluded sunning place and down into the cool water.

Friday, February 18, 2011

The next hike will be on Saturday, 19th February.We meet at the Ballpark in Gillies Bay at 10:00am.

Last week we were unlucky with the weather which was not really the best for hiking. With low cloud, steady rain and quite a strong blustery wind in more open areas we decided a walk in the forest might offer the least discomfort. The hike was quite long and followed a well maintained logging road that climbs from the high point of Davie Bay Road east through the forest to the start of Thompson Road.

On our hikes its not unusual for someone to spot some oddity of nature, and ask questions about it. Recently a hiker noticed an Arbutus leaf with curious markings and wondered what might have happened to the leaf to produce the odd pattern. I knew the answer and was pleased to see the culprit clearly visible and still alive. There are many hundreds of different leaf miner species, and a member of one these was the flattened caterpillar that was feeding inside the leaf. This one has a black head and yellow body and will probably mature into a tiny moth.

Friday, February 11, 2011

Last Saturday we drove to Bob's Lake along roads quite clear of snow and parked at the gas pipeline crossing. We hiked south on the right of way and eventually arrived at the usual lunch spot on the lake shore. The lake was certainly still frozen, but the ice was thin and had melted completely around the edges.

I've been asked by Paula and Maurice Brunelle to mention that they are inviting the hikers to drop by their house in Gillies Bay after the hike for a chat and refreshments. You can find them at the far end of Pine Street on the right.

Friday, February 4, 2011

Last Saturday there was very low cloud cover and a threat of rain when we met at the Ballpark in Gillies Bay. We thought we would just do a hike along the road that ends at Shingle Beach to avoid wet vegetation and the foggy high ground. On the way to the campground where we planned to have lunch a side visit to Yew Tree Bay seemed a nice thing to do and the empty cabin there had odd and interesting things to check out. I mentioned the big Arbutus and a large new Yew tree we had found a few weeks earlier and we wandered down to the tiny beach to the north of the cabin. By then it was time for lunch and when a group of passing sealions noticed us they decided to hang around and watch us eat lunch. They were quite a boisterous bunch of the light tan coloured Stellers with a very different head profile to the darker California species, and put on quite a noisy display — an unexpected treat on a dull winter day.

JD.

A small group of tan coloured Steller Sealions watched us all the time we were eating lunch.